1. Waking Up

Finally, light spiraled down into the place where she lay. Blurry face peered down upon her.

"Finally, a Newbie!"

"What's your name?"

"Welcome to the Maze,"

Strange voices seemed to come from every direction, bouncing off the walls and aiming themselves straight toward her ears.

Then one word appeared in her mind. Sonya. It must be her name... but that is the only thing she remembers. Everything is... muffled, blocked by a barrier in her head. All this gave her a terrible headache.

A hand reached down into the box concealing her and lifted her out into the sunlight. Finally Sonya's vision started to sharpen. She was standing in a grassy field, with buildings, farms, and a woodland beyond that. Then, a mossy stone wall rose higher than everything.

"Hey, Newbie! Welcome to the Maze. What's your name?" came a girl's voice. By the looks of it, she was about 16. "I'm Miyoko,"

"I-I'm Sonya, I think,"

"Sonya. I like that name,"

Sonya grinned. At least she had someone she could talk to now.

"So, Sonya. I'm Harriet, the leader of this place,"

Sonya looked toward a girl who was a little older than Miyoko. She seemed to be in a place of authority, though Sonya wasn't sure. She hardly knew anything about this place yet.

"Excuse me, Harriet, what do you mean by the Maze?" Finally Sonya had enough confidence to ask this. Her head throbbed painfully with each word.

"Ha! What do you mean by the Maze she asks!" Harriet snickered, then answered the question. "We live in the Glade, which is where we are now. Each day, our Runners search the Maze, the labyrinth that surrounds the Glade," Harriet paused for a second to look at Sonya's face.

"I see what your thinking, and NO. Not just any Newbie can be a Runner. You have to be a leader, brave, strong, and fast,"

Sonya thought hard. Weird, that this Runner thing seemed to be almost calling her. She stuffed it back into her mind though, and let the other girls show her around.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I will add more later, but I must go now. Thank you. ~Lael